Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a rapid prototyping technique and more particularly, to a method, an apparatus and a computer readable medium for producing a prototype diagram of a three dimensional (3D) object by rapidly disposing a support frame.
Description of Related Art
In recent years, with continuous development and improvement in printing techniques, 3D printing has become a quite popular business. The 3D printing is also called as an additive manufacturing technique which is a type of rapid prototyping technique which establishes a 3D object through a layer-by-layer printing manner based on a digital forming drawing file by using bonding materials, such as powdered metals or plastic materials.
Generally, in a 3D printing process, a 3D object model is produced by means of computer aided design (CAD) and then converted into a drawing file capable of being read by a rapid prototyping apparatus such as a standard template library (STL) apparatus so as to produce slicing files. Through analyzing cross sections of the 3D object by a computer, the 3D object further needs a professional technician to determine whether to set support frames for the 3D object, such that a prototype diagram of the 3D object is formed, and a physical 3D object can be produced by stacking by the rapid prototyping equipment. Additionally, complex processes such as cutting the support frames and polishing the 3D object are required to be performed on the 3D object to produce an end product. Accordingly, the workflow of the conventional 3D printing has to be operated by a professional technician. Thus, a 3D printing technique that can be operated more easily is needed to widely popularize the 3D printing technique for family use.